Illuminate Nacht
by Cedfia123
Summary: Ten months after "The First Rule of Being a Princess", Sofia is finally taking the test that will make her a real Sorceress. The day is fraught with surprises, some good, some not so good. Thank goodness she has an ah-mazing Master Sorcerer and Fiance to be her light during the dark times. (M rated Cedfia)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, I guess I've been really inspired. This is yet another sequel. Once I started writing about them, I began imagining a whole life for Cedric and Sofia and I thought it might be fun to follow them into a settled relationship.**

 **I think I'm playing a long game. There's a lot of set up happening in this story for something much longer I have planned down the road. So that's why I set the story up as a kind of 'Citrusy Oreo', lemons in the beginning and end and some plot in the middle. (Am I the only one who loves the cookie part of the Oreo better than the filling? I'm weird like that!)**

 **SO… this is essentially the third story in what is now a series. It's not completely essential to read the other two, but it might make more sense to read "How to Make a Birthday Perfect" and "The First Rule of Being a Princess" first.**

 **Also I have to shout out Jessibelle811. Her awesome story "Intoxication" is total inspiration to me. Every new chapter makes me want to write something even half as good!**

 **Disclaimer: Sofia is 18, Cedric is 34 and I don't own them or anyone else. I just enjoy embarrassing poor Baileywick!**

.o~O*O~o.

Cedric was cold.

Half asleep he reached out, blindly searching for soft, sleek, _warm_ curves to snuggle with.

But his hands found nothing.

Opening his eyes he discovered the other half of the bed empty, the sheets cold.

Sofia wasn't there.

It was amazing how quickly one could get used to something. He'd slept alone in this drafty tower, in this cold bed for fifteen years. In all that time he'd never questioned or considered it should be anything other than that.

Then they'd admitted what was between them.

And suddenly his bed had become an oasis, a world onto itself, always warm, always inviting, filled with the joy she brought into it.

Whether they were indulging in hedonistic nights devoted to pleasuring each other till the sun came up, whispering in the dark about everything and nothing, or just holding each other as they slept, ten short months was all it took for him to become utterly unused to being cold _or_ alone in this bed.

A muffled sound caught his attention and he turned, noticing the bedroom door had been left open and a soft light was emanating from his workshop.

Rising from the bed, he made his way through the room and up the stairs, heedless of the fact he was naked.

The workshop was illuminated by the light of a single candle.

He found Sofia standing over his workbench casting a spell from the book in front of her, his Sorcerer's robe the only thing between her skin and the chill of the damp room.

Sofia finished the spell and a beautiful, luminescent butterfly flitted around the room for a few seconds before exploding into shards of brilliant multi-colored light, which floated momentarily, than ceased to exist.

Coming up behind her, he wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her back flush against his front.

She came willingly, allowing him to sweep back her hair and pull on the robe until one shoulder was bare.

Cedric leaned forward, burying his face in her neck, kissing and nipping at the graceful column of her throat.

Sofia's head fell back against his chest and the movement caused the loosened robe to shift again exposing one of her breasts.

Cedric watched, fascinated, as her nipple hardened in the cold air. He brought his other arm up around her then, his hand clasping her covered shoulder, the warm softness of that bare breast searing the tattoo on his forearm.

"I woke up and you were gone." He whispered as he licked the shell of her ear.

Sofia sighed softly, one of her hands coming up to tangle in the strands of hair at the base of his neck, holding his mouth to her as she turned her head, giving him more access.

"I couldn't sleep. I woke up hours ago. I tried to fall back but I just kept tossing and turning, and you looked so peaceful I was afraid I'd disturb you. I thought I would just come out here and practice. The early bird gets the worm and all. I'm sorry I woke you."

Sofia sucked in an excited breath as Cedric gripped the fabric of her covered shoulder and forced it down leaving her topless, the heavy material bunched into the bends of her arms.

"You didn't wake me," he replied, taking her chin between his fingers and tilting her head so he could taste the hollow of her throat. His hands moving to tease her nipples. "I got cold. It seems I am unable to sleep without your light warming me."

She smiled at that, and twisted her neck as far she could, using the hand tangled in his hair to force his mouth to hers. They kissed, eyes locked on each other as ever.

"You have nothing to worry about Dearest. You're ready. I wouldn't let you do this if you weren't." He said when they broke apart.

She nodded.

"I know that. I just… I can't help feeling like I have something extra to prove. Everyone else will have graduated from one magical academy or another. They'll look at me and think I'm only there because the King commanded you to let me play at being a sorceress." She sounded distraught, as if there could be nothing worse.

Cedric held her than, shelving his desire so he could comfort her. He knew he was witnessing one of her vary rare moments of self-doubt.

Sofia was a confident woman.

She was intimidatingly intelligent, well educated, talented, and exquisitely beautiful. There wasn't a great deal that could make her feel insecure. But from the moment she'd become a princess she'd lived in fear of being branded an imposter.

She feared then others would think she was masquerading as a Princess because she'd been born a peasant. And she feared now the Masters would think she was masquerading as a Sorceress because she was a Princess.

Kissing the top of her head and laying his cheek against the soft curls, he moved his hands from her chest to hold her arms, squeezing them in reassurance.

"Let them underestimate you if they're foolish enough to do so. It will make your triumph all the sweeter when you prove you're more talented than the whole lot of academy brats there.

And you are Sofia, don't ever doubt that. You're more gifted than anyone I've ever met. One day you'll be more powerful than even the Masters who stand in judgment of you today."

She smiled at that and Cedric could see tears glistening at the corners of her eyes. The hand holding his neck tightened and she turned a bit in his arms so she could face him.

"You always tell me I'm your light in the darkness, banishing the shadows, making you stronger and more confident. But do you ever realize you do the same for me _all_ the time.

I wouldn't even be taking my Masters test today if you hadn't come to me all those years ago and told me you believed I had the talent to be a _real_ Sorcerer. And I probably would have given up a hundred times over if you weren't by my side encouraging me to try again, reminding me that mistakes are a part learning, that failing doesn't make you a failure.

Do you know how much I owe you? Do you even understand how grateful I am every day that you'd put up with me when I know how you hate suffering fools?"

Cedric wanted to tell her he'd never, for even a single second, thought of her as a fool. But he was speechless. No one had ever said something like that to him before. The very idea that someone's life was richer, better off because he was in it. It was… unimaginable to him.

Sofia laughed after a moment, a teary smile lighting her beautiful face.

"I just broke you didn't I?"

Cedric snorted at that, grateful she'd understood how overcome he was and given him an out.

"You had better hope not," he quipped sarcastically. "Otherwise you'll have no excuse to come up here and spend time in these opulent accommodations of mine!"

Sofia laughed again, bigger and brighter.

"You found me out. All this time I've just been trying to sneak my way into a better set of rooms." Just then a cold draft sent a shiver through her half exposed body. "Dear GOD how can it be so _COLD_ in here. It's nearly June!"

She beamed up at him, feeling better, and cold, and astonished to be so cold; and he smiled right back as he turned her again so her back was pressed to his front.

His arms came back around her.

"I could warm you up," he offered, nuzzling the shell of her ear.

"How long do we have before we have to leave?" She asked, her hands coming up to rest over his.

"About an hour and half," he answered.

"Mmm, I think you've hit on an excellent way to kill two birds with one stone. You can keep me warm _and_ take my mind off of my jitters." She gripped his hands then, putting them back over her still exposed breasts.

"I wouldn't let Wormwood hear you use that expression," He laughed softly as he began kissing her neck again. One of his hands creeping down to her waist to part his robe where it stubbornly managed to remain mostly closed.

A soft peel of laughter escaped her mouth only to turn into a gasp as Cedric's hand reached between her legs.

He brushed the soft curls there and her head fell back, lulling on his shoulder.

"You're magnificent. Don't ever let yourself believe otherwise." He whispered, as three of his fingers entered her and his thumb made sure, firm circles around her nub.

Time never seemed to work normally when they came together this way. To the two of them it seemed as though everything slowed, as though each moment was its own tiny eternity. And yet elsewhere it seemed time sped up. They'd lost whole nights in each other's arms without noticing the passing of the hours.

It was that way now as Sofia broke apart in his arms. Her voice calling his name, her back arching with the suddenness of her release, her trembling legs threating to give out on her.

Turning Cedric used one arm to sweep everything off of the worktable, sending books and note papers crashing to the floor.

The other lifted her onto the now empty table.

Without a word, he took her thighs in his hands and pulled her to the edge.

Planting her palms on the table, Sofia leaned back, her arms supporting her as she wrapped her legs around him.

In one deep thrust and Cedric was buried so far inside her, he could feel her everywhere.

As he began moving he grabbed the belt to his robe. With one firm tug the sash gave and the heavy fabric fell away from Sofia's body, revealing all of her.

"Harder! Please love, I need more of you." she whispered as she shook her hands free of the sleeves and sat upright, wrapping her arms around his neck, twisting her fingers into his hair.

One of Cedric's hands knotted into the hair at the base of her neck, the other cupped her face, slanting his mouth over hers. He alternated between caressing her mouth with his tongue and whispering how much he loved her against the satin of her lips. All the while doing exactly as his princess had bid him.

Lengthening his strokes, he pulled almost all the way out of her tight heat only to come crashing back. Making her whimper with every recession and moan with every return.

The single candle that lit the room had burned down to almost nothing when Sofia ripped her mouth from his, letting out a strangled cry as she fell over the edge into spectacular release.

Her muscles clenched him like a vice and there was no fighting it. Thrusting one last time, he followed her over the edge, his own cry mingling with the echo of hers.

"WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?!"

Cedric's head snapped up, as Sofia let out a horrified gasp.

Pulling her flush against his chest and lifting one of her thighs high on his hip, Cedric tried to shield the most private parts of Sofia's body from view.

Still, there was one hopeful moment when he thought he might simply be hallucinating the sight of Baileywick standing in the doorway.

"Just what do think you're doing with the Princess?"

No such luck.

The steward's question infuriated him in its audacious stupidity.

"Unless you've finally gone daft, I think that's fairly obvious. The better question, is what the hell are _you_ doing in here?"

Baileywick just stood there, staring at them for what seemed like forever.

Cedric watched him go from the pale shock of someone sickened to see the sight before him, to beet red and filled with rage.

"I knocked… _severa_ l times! I came to tell you the coach has arrived to take you to the Hall of Masters." The steward finally spoke, spitting his words at Cedric. "I was about to leave since no one answered and then you both screamed. I thought someone was hurt."

Baileywick turned his attention to Sofia then, attempting, in vain, to see her face which she'd hidden in the hollow of Cedric's throat.

"Princess Sofia _has_ Cedric hurt you? Do you need help? Shall I call the guards?"

Being essentially 'part of the family' Baileywick had made no secret of his vehement disapproval of their engagement. But Cedric still found himself shocked the man apparently hated him so much, he would intimate he'd just walked in on rape.

Apparently it was the last straw for Sofia as well.

Lifting her head from his chest, she sighed deeply and pinned the steward with a look that managed to be hurt, and disappointed, and angry all at once.

"No Baileywick, I'm _clearly_ not hurt. What you heard was the sound of me ENJOYING the man I'm marrying in two months! Do I _look_ as though I need an army to help me with that?"

If Baileywick had been shocked before, there were no words to describe the steward's face at Sofia's vulgar statement. It was safe to say the sweetest Princess in the castle had _never_ spoken to him like that before.

With one last enraged look at their entwined nakedness, Baileywick turned on his heel, slamming the workshop door behind him.

They were quiet for long minutes, still holding each other, trying to calm their nerves.

Finally Cedric broke the silence.

"How in Hades Hell did he even get in here? I locked the door last night before we went to bed."

Sofia let out a little groan, and burrowed her head back into the hollow of his throat. Her voice was muffled by his chest when she enlightened him.

"When I came out this morning, all the candles in the room had burned down to nubs. I didn't want to wake you by riffling through the bedside drawer to get a new one, and I remembered the one outside the door was basically unused. I guess I forgot to turn the lock when I walked back in."

She lifted her head slightly, taking a peak to see if he was mad. But honestly he couldn't have cared less. They had nothing to be ashamed of.

"He's probably on his way to tell your father right now." Cedric sneered.

Sofia snorted at that.

"Do you think he'll be more or less angry when he finds out Dad already knows?"

That broke the damn and they both started laughing. The adrenaline running through them causing them to continue until their sides ached and they were both near hysterical.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I had so much fun coming up with silly Sorcerer titles, I'm going to have to find ways to interject them into the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Cedric and Sofia, or anyone else mentioned. I'm just jealous of Disney!**

.o~O*O~o.

Twenty short minutes later they were both dressed and in the carriage.

Looking at Sofia, Cedric could see her jitters were back in force. His efforts to calm her had been spectacularly wrecked by Baileywick, and she sat now twisting her wand and bouncing one of her legs.

He decided to let her do what she had to do. Going before the Masters _was_ a nerve wracking experience, there was no point in asking her to pretend otherwise.

He remembered his own test some sixteen years ago. Given his youthful tendency to fall apart in stressful situations, he considered his performance a near miracle.

Unfortunately, most people just assumed his test had been a formality. No one was going to fail Goodwin the Great's son no matter how badly the boy bungled things.

In fact Cedric had done rather superbly.

His old Master of Spells from Hexly Hall had been head of his board, and knowing the older man believed in him had gone a long way. Looking back he realized that Master Cassius was probably the only other person besides Sofia and his mother to have _ever_ believed in him.

He knew when he walked through the Hall of Aspirations today he would feel his old teacher's absence keenly. It was a shame he'd never get to introduce Sofia to him. Cassius would have adored her.

Shifting his thoughts he looked through the materials Sofia had brought one last time. Making sure everything was accounted for.

Each Apprentice was required to bring a book containing no less than ten original spells and two potions ready to be demonstrated. The Masters would test both potions and ask the Apprentice to preform several of their spells. They might also quiz an Apprentice on subjects ranging from the history of magic, the specific ingredients of any number of potions, the properties of magical herbs and flowers, or ask them to translate phrases from English into the Latinate hybrid language of magic.

Sofia had brought five potions. Her spell book contained eighteen spells, conceived and written by her over the last eight years. She had been fluent in the magical language since the third year of her Apprenticeship, and he had long considered her a walking dictionary when it came to magical ingredients and their properties.

He knew she was leaving The Hall of Masters today with the title of Master Sofia. But he ached a little to see her so unsure about it.

Putting a hand on her bouncing knee, he caught her attention.

"Breathe, Dearest."

She smiled at him, about to say something, but just then the coach broke through the clouds and The Hall of Masters came into view.

It was a magnificent structure.

Hidden atop the Mount of Miracles (the tallest mountain in Enchancia) you could see only the sky above and the clouds below in every direction. The structure itself was vast, made entirely of magically enchanted crystal.

Up here they were above the weather and so from dawn to dusk the sun continually shone down on the fortress, hitting the crystal walls and shattering into the spectrum. It created the illusion the whole structure was one giant, glittering rainbow.

Sofia sucked in a shocked breath at the sight.

The coach landed, joining the receiving line of Apprentices, coming to be judged, and their mentors.

They waited a scant minute or two before it was their turn. An Apprentice of the Hall opened the carriage door for them and Cedric stepped out first, followed by Sofia who was taking in her surroundings with quiet awe.

Seeing her here, he wondered how she, or anyone else, could doubt she belonged.

He'd conjured the robes she wore today, as a good luck present, and she looked every inch a Sorceress.

Her dress was a simple, unpoofy, sky blue silk the exact shade of her eyes. Over it she wore a traditional robe in midnight blue silk, covered in silver moons and golden suns.

She'd left her hair loose and taken off her amulet (believing it wise not to advertise her ownership of such a rare magical bauble in a remote fortress filled with unfamiliar Sorcerers).

Her only adornments were her engagement ring and her own natural beauty.

And still she was the most exquisite, captivating woman there.

They passed through the audience chamber where people where always milling about and through to the Hall of Aspirations, the special wing of the fortress designated for testing aspiring Sorcerers once each year.

They joined the other Masters and their hopefuls waiting by a row of golden doors.

There were six rooms down one side of this corridor. Inside each sat six masters. They would call apprentices in and take anywhere from just a few minutes to sometimes a full hour to assess their worthiness.

There were about a hundred young men and women here today, which meant it would be a long day of waiting around.

When each apprentice emerged from their test everyone in the hall would be informed whether or not they'd passed. But no one would know who won honors until the celebration feast which began at dusk.

There were ten honors in all. Nine new Sorcerer's would receive medals for their performance today and one would receive the highest honor. A crystal wand made of the same beautiful material as the fortress itself, and enchanted for good luck.

When he'd taken his test he'd managed to win a medal. He remembered being so excited about it, until he'd shown it to his father the next day. Instead of being proud, the old man had shaken his head in disappointment, muttering how Goodwin the Great's son should have won the wand.

It had been a shattering moment for eighteen year old Cedric, but he was passed it now.

And he knew however Sofia did he would be proud of her. He had a special gift for he, which he'd been secreting away, for when they returned tonight. Something to show her that, in his eyes, she was already the greatest sorceress in all the known (and unknown) realms.

The clock in the great tower struck six times and as the last stroke echoed each of the doors opened. Six Apprentices of the Hall stepped out, scrolls in their hands.

The first tests were about to begin.

The hall went silent and the young girl standing in front of the first door let her voice ring out, bouncing off the crystalline walls and echoing with an authority belied by her small stature.

"Morris of Friesenburg, Apprentice of Master Marius the Meritorious, come forward if you wish to prove yourself worthy." A gangly young man with sandy hair and an oily complexion, about Sofia's age, pushed through the crowd to stand before the girl with the scroll.

She moved to the side and he entered the room. Following him in, she closed the door behind them.

The other Apprentices of the Hall called out for hopefuls down the line of doors.

When the last Apprentice called out, Cedric felt Sofia go ridged next to him.

"Sofia, Princess of Enchancia, Apprentice of Master Cedric Sorcerer Royal. Come forward if you wish to prove yourself worthy."

As if in a trance, Sofia began to move. Weaving her way through the crowd, she came to stand before the boy who had called her. He bowed low before stepping aside to let her enter the room, then followed her, closing the door behind them.

For all his confidence in her, Cedric felt his own nerves twitching a little.

He wished he was allowed to go with her, for moral support, but only the Apprentice was allowed in the testing room. So no question would arise later that a Master might have somehow helped their student pass. Instead he would just have to get comfortable slouching against the crystal pillar beside him and wait.

He'd only been standing for a few minutes when an unexpected voice called to him from over his shoulder.

"Master Cedric."

Cedric turned, shocked to see a familiar form bow to him. Courtesy and tradition ruled here, so he couldn't do anything but return the bow.

"Master Goodwin." He intoned before righting himself.

Now that courtesy had been satisfied they could address each other as normal.

"Father, I didn't know you'd be here today."

He probably should have guessed though. His father had an unusually large soft spot for his future daughter-in-law.

Cedric still remembered the afternoon they'd gone to Mystic Meadows to tell his parents about their engagement. It had been the same day they'd told Sofia's parents.

The King wanted to send a Royal Proclamation throughout the kingdom, announcing their betrothal as soon as possible, and so he and Sofia had felt it best to tell his parents right away before they found out from a Royal Crier.

Feeling relaxed and happy after the easy, unassuming way he'd been accepted by Sofia's family, Cedric had put his arm around her shoulders as they walked from the coach to the door. She'd returned the gesture, putting her arm around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder.

They were still standing like that when his mother answered the door.

Her initial surprise at seeing them unexpectedly on her doorstep, had given way to a large exhalation, as though some great weight had finally been lifted from her small shoulders.

Then she'd proved it was no accident she'd been given the title 'Winifred the Wise'.

"Oh thank goodness," she'd sighed rather dramatically. "The way you two were going, I feared I wouldn't _live_ long enough to see my grandchildren."

Then she pulled them into a joint hug, kissing both their cheeks before ushering them inside.

By Contrast, when they'd told Goodwin the news he'd just sat there looking stunned for long moments, as if everyone in the world had suddenly gone crazy except himself.

Despite the mending of their relationship, by Sofia's own hands, Cedric had feared for a terrible moment his father was going to pull her down on the couch and try to talk sense into her. Explaining that she was about to make the mistake of her life by marrying his dud of a son, and begging her to reconsider while there was still time to avoid becoming Mrs. Cedric the So-So.

Instead he'd eventually cleared his throat and given them his blessing. But Cedric couldn't get past the notion his father was only happy because he liked Sofia so much. That he wanted her for a daughter badly enough to hold his peace, even though he secretly thought she was having an egregiously large lapse in judgment.

Now his father stood before him, slightly uncomfortable, but here. The way he hadn't been for Cedric all those years ago.

Goodwin coughed uncomfortably, as though he had the awareness to be at least somewhat chastened.

"Oh, well, I was summoned to help with the testing but when I pointed out that my future daughter-in-law was among those being judged, it was decided I should recuse myself from today's goings-on. I thought I would come and wait with you rather than returning to Mystic Meadows."

"That's kind of you Father." Cedric replied, his tone rather more neutral than grateful.

"Is she already inside?" Goodwin asked looking about for Sofia as, since childhood, she was generally always somewhere near Cedric.

"Yes. She was among the first group called."

"I hope things go well for her," but something in his voice seemed to suggest he didn't have much faith.

For some reason, the idea his Father doubted Sofia, broke some long restrained dam in him.

"Are you truly questioning her ability? You have seen what she is capable of! Why must you find fault with everyone and everything around you? Is it not enough you've been using me as punching bag for the last thirty-four years. Must you rain your incessant disapproval down on her now too?"

When Cedric finished, he saw his father had gone pale with shock.

Grabbing Cedric's arm with a force one would not have expected in a man just past seventy, Goodwin shoved Cedric behind the pillar where there was a little more privacy.

"Keep your voice down." Goodwin snapped, before lowering his own. "I'm not doubting her, boy, or you. She's beyond gifted and you've fostered those gifts quite amazingly."

Cedric wondered idly if such effusive praise burned on the way out of his father's mouth, but said nothing.

"I'm worried because of what went on when I recused myself this morning."

Now Goodwin had Cedric's full and un-embittered attention.

"Why? What happened?"

Goodwin looked down at the floor and shook his head slowly, as if he were truly discomfited to say out loud what he knew. But finally there was no help for it.

"Cedric the Master's doubt her ability and her right to be here."

"Because she's royalty." Cedric nodded, they'd been expecting that.

It was a notion he knew Sofia could disprove using only an ounce of her talent.

"No son, because of your personal relationship. I'm sure they're happy to hold any excuse against her. But that is the primary point of their discontent."

Cedric was stunned.

"You can't be serious?"

It wasn't an everyday occurrence, but he was hardly the first Master to have a romantic relationship with or even marry his Apprentice.

"I don't understand?" Was all Cedric could say.

"You see, well. There was talk about how when you marry Sofia you will become a Prince. That's not something that happens among our kind very often, or ever, if memory serves. And well she's so young and beautiful…" His father's voice trailed off.

But the unsaid "and your so much older and not much to look at" was obvious.

"Well… some of the older Masters intimated that they feared Sofia couldn't possibly be very talented. That she must have been … that she was trading her favors for your help passing the test."

Cedric had never felt such blinding rage. Not when the other children at school mocked him for failing to do everything perfectly on the first attempt. Not when his father or the King used to belittle him. Not even when he'd failed, yet again, to steal the Amulet of Avalor.

He had one hazy red moment when he determined to break down the door to the room Sofia was being tested in. He'd throw her over his shoulder, set the room and everyone in it ablaze, and walk away while it burned.

But the feeling of his father's hand on his arm brought him back to reality.

"You won't help her by barging in there. You'll just reinforce the idea she can't stand on her own."

His father was right of course. But it didn't take the awful sting out of the knowledge that people thought Sofia had thrown her body and her crown at him, to bribe him into writing her spells and concocting her potions.

They were mostly silent after that. Goodwin was as good as his word though, and stayed with Cedric while he waited for Sofia.

It was a long wait. The other five doors opened twice in the time they stood there, admitting new hopefuls, while the door to Sofia's room remained locked tight.

Finally, about three hours after she'd gone in, the sixth door opened and the small boy who was playing usher stood waiting for silence.

It fell quickly as everyone was curious to hear how the Master's had judged the Princess Apprentice.

"The Masters of this Hall have made their judgment!"

The boy's voice rang clear and pure through the hall.

"From this day forward Sofia, Princess of Enchancia, shall be known to all who have passed through these halls or ever shall as Master Sofia, Sorceress in her own right! All shall make way."

As they had for the other students who passed, everyone waiting gathered on either side of the door. When Sofia appeared looking drained but triumphant, they threw up cheers, applauding and bowing to her.

Sofia gave them all polite nods and thanked them. She was never anything but unfailingly polite, but it was clear to Cedric she wasn't really paying attention.

Then her eyes locked with his, from across the hall, and a powerful, victorious smile spread across her face. Ignoring everything else she ran to him.

At the sight of her rushing to his arms, his mind fell silent, save for a single thought:

FUCK. THEM. ALL!

He caught her up, and swung her around.

"Cedric I did it, I passed!"

He put her back on her feet after several circles and grabbed her face in his hands, kissing her long and hard.

Let them watch.

Let them judge.

She was his and he loved her more than he loved his own soul. He was prouder of her than he'd ever been of anything or anyone.

They'd given her a trial by fire for it, and she'd showed them all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Sofia is 18, Cedric is 34 and I I'm too poor to buy them from Disney, so I'm just playing with them for fun.**

.o~O*O~o.

It was the sound of Goodwin coughing uncomfortably that broke through the fog of triumphant, possessive lust which had taken Cedric and Sofia.

Lifting his mouth away from hers, Cedric saw they were the center of attention.

There were a few scowls. But what he saw most were envious stares and not a few wistful smiles, as though many people where reliving a romantic moment of their own.

Sofia seemed utterly unconscious of the way people were staring. Or maybe being a Princess, all these years, had taught her to expect large groups of people to find her the most intriguing person in the room. Either way she seemed completely unfazed by the interest in them and instead laid her head on his shoulder and reached out an arm to his father.

"Master Goodwin," She intoned the formality perfectly, bowing her head and bending at the knee in a small curtsey. "I didn't know you were here! Have you been waiting with Cedric long?"

Goodwin blushed at her concern for him. It was clear his father was almost as in love with Sofia as he was.

"Since just after you went in Master Sofia." He replied, bowing his own head.

"It was so good of you to wait that long." Sofia's earnest look betrayed how truly touched she was.

And of course, at the sight of her wide blue gaze and dazzling, sincere smile, Goodwin folded like a deck of cards.

"Nonsense, child, where should a father be, at a time like this, but with his son and daughter?" Goodwin beamed at her, like a puppy delighted to have pleased its master.

Cedric didn't think even his mother had this easy a time managing his father. It was a relief Sofia only used her powers for good.

"Now, you poor dear, you must be absolutely famished after such an ordeal. Why don't we go out to the gardens, they'll be food and refreshment there for the Masters who are staying." Goodwin gestured towards a glass door at the very end of the hall.

"That sounds wonderful Mr. Goodwin." Sofia said, wrapping both her arms around one of Cedric's as they started walking.

When they walked through the doors Sofia gasped in delight.

Cedric followed her gaze, experiencing the beauty of the garden anew through her eyes.

Even though they were up high enough for the real air to be quite thin and cold, the garden was warm and inviting, frozen in eternal bloom. Cherry Blossom trees dotted the large expanse of green, providing shade from the never cloudy sky. Pools of crystal clear water rung with marble benches flowed gently, while Ice Lilies and roses of every color lived side by side. Birds of paradise chirped from the treetops while butterflies flitted from flowerbed to flowerbed.

It was a veritable paradise.

One which Cedric had always thought wasted on a bunch of stuffy old curmudgeons and crooked back old crones.

But perhaps now Sofia was officially one of them, they would return here sometime to walk the garden alone.

As it was, the place was as full as Cedric had ever seen it. At least twenty new Sorcerers and their Masters lulled about, eating, socializing, and killing time until dusk.

Awed as she was Sofia's stomach betrayed her with a loud rumble. They'd hadn't had enough time to eat this morning, but Cedric knew even if he'd conjured her a banquet, she would have been too nervous to have more than a crust of bread anyway.

Going over to the buffet tables Cedric watched as Sofia turned her plate into an impressive pyramid of pastries, fly cakes, and fruit.

They were going to claim a bench under one of the blossom trees when Sofia almost collided with a short, round young man carrying an obvious chip on his shoulder.

"Cedric!" He heard a bright voice from farther away.

Turning Cedric saw Graylock bounding up to them.

The other Sorcerer was just about to clap him on the shoulder when he saw Cedric's father scowling disapprovingly at the lack of decorum.

Grimacing in embarrassment, Graylock bowed.

"Master Cedric, Master Sofia, Master Goodwin." He intoned, bowing lower at each name.

"Master Graylock." They replied in unison, Goodwin and Cedric bowing as Sofia curtsied.

Goodwin nodded in satisfaction and Graylock returned to his usual self.

"Cedric, old boy, Sofia, I'm so glad you're both here. It's been an awfully long and boring morning already and I hear there's enough Apprentices here the tests will be going on until almost feast time.

Sofia I'm told the highest congratulations are in order! They're already saying you just survived the hardest judgment in three centuries. Magnificent job, truly."

Sofia smiled and bowed her head in thanks, her mouth to full of Fly Cake to make replying polite.

From her side, there was a derisive snort.

All eyes moved to the chunky young man disapprovingly.

"Do you have something to say about that young _Master_ …?" Cedric's words were polite, but the ice in his voice was chillingly obvious.

Before the twit could make a reply, Graylock interjected himself.

"Not Master I'm afraid. Young Eliot here did not pass his judgment.

But his brother over there," Graylock pointed to an even more awkward youth, who was loudly and entertainingly introducing himself to a group of female Masters as Beauford the Bodacious, "was also my Apprentice.

He did pass and since King Magnus doesn't like to over work any of his stable of flying horses, young Elliot will have to stay for the feast as well."

Cedric would have let it drop at that, but a half forgotten memory tickled the back of his mind.

"I know you." Cedric said wracking his brain to remember how. Then it came to him.

"You're one of students from Hexly hall that tried to float Royal Prep away with bubbles."

The boy leveled him with a look that seemed almost too malevolent even to be called a sneer.

"As I remember it, me and my friends also managed to stick you to a chair and give you a real nice mustache. You should have kept it. It really improved your profile, _Master_ Cedric."

"Now, see here young man…." Goodwin blustered.

Cedric cut his father off with a raised hand.

Later he'd curse himself for having goaded the lad, but now Cedric eyed him with a bored smile and a conversational tone.

"You did. And as I recall it was Sofia who stopped you and your friends. You were what… a fourth year student at the time? Tell me, how did your friends at Hexly Hall react when you admitted you'd been defeated by a flounce of lavender who knew practically nothing about magic? Or did you make up some fantastical lie to cover your shame?

And look, he we all are together again and Sofia has managed to out-perform you once more. Don't feel too bad boy. Some are naturally gifted and others of are not. I'm sure there's a carnival somewhere just waiting to add you to their sideshow."

Young Elliot didn't seem to know when to cut his losses. Instead of backing down he smiled maliciously as though he were savoring what he was about to say next.

"Please, you're a half-rate hack, and she only passed because she obviously knows how to please old m…."

Before Elliot could finish his sentence Graylock backhanded him across the mouth, sending the boy crashing to the ground.

Elliot looked stunned as he cradled his bleeding lip and tried to scramble away from his Master.

"Pick yourself up you sniveling brat and apologize! No matter how lucky you might have gotten _once_ in the past you stand before four Masters. Four people who passed _their_ judgments. Something you proved you're clearly not capable of."

The boy did pick himself up then, but instead of apologizing he merely shot them each a venomous look and ran away, back into the hall.

"Sofia, Cedric, I'm sorry. He's a… difficult youth even in the best of times. And he's obviously stinging from his failure. I promise you though, his behavior will not go unpunished."

With that Graylock bowed and excused himself to reclaim his wayward apprentice before the boy caused any more trouble.

"Is that why they put me through so much?" Sofia's voice was a shaky whisper. "They thought because Cedric is so brilliant and gifted he wouldn't put up with the drudgery of teaching a spoiled little Princess, unless I…."

Cedric watched the color drain from her face.

He wanted to hurt them all, not just for their filthy minds, but because she already looked so stricken and now he'd have to tell her it was far worse than she imagined.

Taking a deep breath, he decided that quick and direct was the best way, like ripping off a bandage.

"Dearest, they didn't think you were trading your… charms for magic lessons."

The look of hope that lit her eyes then made him want to cut out his own tongue. But he forced himself to tell her the truth.

"They thought you'd seduced me so that I would create your Master's pieces for you and that you'd agreed to put a crown on my head as payment for a job well done."

Tears started to form in her eyes then. He watched them slip silently down her cheeks as she began looking at the people around her suspiciously, wondering if they were all talking about her, laughing at her.

It was Goodwin who interjected, taking her hand in his own and patting it with fatherly comfort.

"Old Sorcerer's love their gossip Sofia, and they like it best sprinkled with a fine seasoning of viciousness. But even the few nasties who would utter such vile rubbish have had their mouths closed by your performance. You've proven yourself beyond a shadow of doubt. Three hours, is unheard of. Most people would have cracked under the pressure long before that. There is nothing but respect for you in these halls, you _and_ Cedric."

Goodwin turned to his son then laying his hand on Cedric's arm.

"For so magnificent an Apprentice is a clear reflection of her Master."

Sofia nodded her head and smiled wanly, but Cedric knew it would take more than a few words, however encouraging or sincere, from someone so clearly biased to lift the storm he saw descending on her.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I finished this story last night (yeah) so I can say for sure it's six chapters. Like I said in the beginning, it's a lemon Oreo. So chapter 6 will be another 'sexy time' to end things (hopefully) on the right note!**

 **Thank you to everyone who's been reading and especially to those who've reviewed. The encouragement is pure motivation!**

 **Disclaimer: Sofia is 18, Cedric is 34 and I don't own either of them.**

.o~O*O~o.

The rest of the day passed in oppressive silence.

Sofia greeted the other Masters, new and old, with perfect courtesy and kindness. Sometimes she even managed a small smile when one of them said something kind or witty.

The majority of the time though, she spent quietly avoiding everyone's gaze, even his… especially his.

She seemed deeply ashamed in a way Cedric wasn't sure he understood, since she had nothing to _be_ shamed about.

Part of him, the petty part that still resided somewhere deep down, wanted to take it personally.

He'd been the butt of so many unkind whispers and nasty jokes his whole life, he had a hard time coming to any conclusion but that she must have recognized she should be ashamed of him.

He wanted to rail at her. She really should have realized before they got here what people would say if she attached herself to a skinny, ugly… what was it Elliot had called him… second-rate hack.

Make bad choices and you'll be forced to live with bad consequences. His inner voice sneered.

He'd tried to warn her countless times he wasn't worthy of her.

But then he remembered how she'd phrased things when all this had first dawned on her. She'd called him brilliant and gifted. She'd called herself a spoiled little princess. As though they were still the over exuberant child and grudgingly tolerant adult they'd been all those years ago. It implied it was him who had reason to be disappointed with her.

And then he felt like a horse's ass.

His better-self shoved down his misgivings and distrust, and without the insidious voice of doubt whispering in his ear, he realized she wasn't ashamed of him.

She was mortified her fears had become reality. Hurt people thought she was a fraud and a cheat. Humiliated they believed her attachment to him was sordid and dirty. And astonishingly, she also seemed anxious that others would now look at her and think she wasn't good enough for him!

The reality was much simpler though.

People were simply envious.

They were jealous of a woman like Sofia because she seemed to have literally everything: youth, beauty, intelligence, wealth, social status, _and_ magical talent. That all these things should coalesce in a single person must seem bitterly unfair to those who knew themselves to be inferior to her… like young not-Master Elliot

And, if he here honest, Cedric knew they were probably jealous of him too.

Not because he had everything, but precisely because he didn't.

In this world being a Royal Sorcerer gave him social status, and despite the mistakes of youth, he had managed to build a decent reputation for himself in the last decade. No one called him Cedric the bungler anymore.

But he lacked youth, wealth, and most especially the conventional attractiveness that would have made winning a woman like Sofia understandable to the masses.

And so they looked at him and turned green with their envy. Choosing to believe Sofia's having fallen in love with him was nothing more than luck. Why should he have such good fortune when they didn't?

Then there was a truth he didn't like pondering too closely.

One that seemed innocent on the surface, but maybe, given his tendencies… actually was not.

Sofia's love, even the innocent childish love of so long ago, had made him more confident. That confidence had made him not just better… but more powerful.

His guidance had caused her magical potential to bloom.

She'd grown from the little girl who came to him distraught because she couldn't turn rocks into rubies, to a woman who could perform the most complicated magic, create the most ingenious spells, and brew the most inspired potions.

His patient attention had helped create an awe-inspiring Sorceress.

And there were still things he had left to teach her. Secrets he'd spent the years before she came into his life learning.

Together they made a powerful pair.

Their combined power, or at the least the potential of it, might be viewed as… threatening to others.

Even the glorious Masters, it seemed.

Why else would they first insinuate that it must have been him who'd put together her master's pieces and then spent three hours trying to break her when it became obvious he had not?

Cedric could come up with no constructive reason for the inquisition she'd been through.

And it had been an inquisition.

When Goodwin finally managed to wrench the details out Sofia it was much, much worse than Cedric initially expected.

They'd started simply enough. Asking her to site the ingredients to her potions, to explain why she'd used one particular thing over another more obvious choice.

When her explanations had been beyond argument, they'd tested each of the potions and found them as perfect as he knew they would be.

They'd interrogated her more harshly about her spells. Implying she'd made mistakes in language or confused subtle meanings of words. Something it was unheard of to do. If the spell worked than that should have been good enough.

Sofia, normally so intent on pleasing others, had found herself having to fight two of the Masters. Defending her knowledge and explaining to them why her choices were in fact better than the alternatives they suggested.

When they finally ran out of arguments, they made her perform all eighteen spells. Punishment, no doubt, for not allowing herself to be bullied into yielding.

It was then things had seemed to go completely off the rails.

Master Ignatius, apparently incensed with his inability to find any reason to withhold the title of Master from Sofia, had demanded she create a spell on the spot.

Cedric had watched his father blanch at that. Not even Goodwin the Great attempted such madness. Spells where complicated, they required the most precise language or else they didn't work, or worse yet they went wrong.

If the saying 'be careful what you wish for' was true, than it was doubly true one should be careful what they 'spell' for.

That was why apprentices where only required to have created ten spells in an education that usually spanned eight to ten years.

For Ignatius to demand such a thing was not just mean-spirited it was wildly, _negligently_ dangerous.

But seeing that none of the other Masters would stand up to him, and knowing it was within her power to prove herself and win, Sofia had done it.

If the impotent prick had ever seen her race in the flying derby, he never would have never challenged her like that.

Sofia didn't do anything by halves.

The girl who'd let her derby partner essentially hurl her at the finish line like a living rock, just to win a toy crown, wasn't going to back down.

He was more thankful than ever she hadn't worn the Amulet of Avalor today, or she would undoubtedly have been sent to one of the lower rings of hell as punishment for calling Ignatius's bluff.

Cedric had called her test a 'trial by fire' but that turned out to be inaccurate, since it was Sofia who'd ended up bringing the fire to the party.

He couldn't say he wasn't proud of her though. Or that Ignatius the Irascible hadn't deserved what he got.

The spell she cast created a storm in the room, but after the thunder cracked and the lightening illuminated the space, the dark cloud opened to reveal, not water, but burning lava.

Sofia didn't even look abashed when she told them she'd made it rain molten rock over Master Ignatius's head. The man had screamed for several long seconds before realizing he wasn't actually being burned.

By time the fire had finally consumed itself, so had Master Ignatius's appetite for provoking her.

The volcanic soot covering him, and the black smoke rising from his clothes where proof Sofia hadn't conjured an illusion. Her spell had made real lava, but changed its properties to render it harmless when it touched the Master's skin. He'd smell like he'd been dunked in a volcano for several days, but otherwise he was unharmed.

And since the idea of creating a 'burnless' lava tempest seemed pretty farfetched, there'd been no question whether Sofia was simply reciting some obscure spell she'd found somewhere.

When it came time to say yeah or nay, the vote to confer the title of Master on Sofia had been unanimous.

When Sofia finished recounting her three hours with the Masters, they all fell into a contemplative silence, only broken when Goodwin stood up.

"I'm going to see if my help is needed before the feast. Even though I didn't judge today I was meant to. They might have want of me. Do excuse me."

When Goodwin was out sight, Cedric took Sofia's hand in his own and turned to face her.

"That was a rather magnificent spell! What are you going to call it?" Cedric couldn't help himself. Even after all this time she still managed to surprise him with the tenacity of her spirit.

He wondered though, if perhaps he should be concerned some his darker instincts had rubbed off on Sofia in their years together. But he supposed he wasn't negatively influencing her virtuous nature too badly. He would have burned Ol' Iggy till the only thing left was a dust pan's worth of scorched ash.

Sofia shrugged.

"I was thinking about something along the lines of 'Assholis Quietis."

"Hmm, an obscure phrase, but quite fitting."

After a moment he continued.

"I'm not used to being on this side of the conversation so you'll have to forgive me if I'm seem out of my depth."

Sofia raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

" _I'm_ not usually the one who has to convince _you_ that things are not as bad as they seem, or that you're worth more than you're giving yourself credit for."

"It's not every day I find out people think I'm not just a phony but a whore."

Cedric flinched at her words but he couldn't very well argue she was wrong.

"No it's not.

But the truth is you haven't lived a life where people are constantly trying to elevate themselves by stepping on your back.

Being a Sorcerer isn't just beauty and light. It's competitive, dangerous, and filled with people who believe they deserve whatever they desire simply because they have the skills to acquire those desires. And getting everything you want, all the time, can warp a person. They start to believe they not only deserve what _they_ desire, but have the right to dictate what others deserve."

Sofia laughed at that, and Cedric heard, for the first time, a strain of bitterness in her tone.

"You wouldn't think so, but that isn't very different from being a Princess. I'll introduce you to Hildegard sometime and you can tell me if she wouldn't put the fear of God into some of the people here."

Cedric made a rye snort.

He'd never been formally introduced, but he was quite aware of Friesenburg's Princess. She was what Amber would be, if Amber suddenly woke one morning without conscience or scruple.

"I know you're shaken by the naked enmity you've seen today. But I think you're losing sight of the bigger picture."

"Oh?"

"Sofia, you won. Not only did you win but you proved them wrong so spectacularly none of them, especially not Iggy the Irascible, will ever open their mouths to slander you again."

He saw a small smile at that, but it was nowhere near as radiant as a Sofia smile should be.

"I know, but I can't get over it. Why would they hate me so much in the first place? I've never done anything to any of them!"

Cedric squeezed her hand feeling as though today's ending might never be more than bittersweet. She'd carried the day, but it had cost her a little of the boundless optimism he secretly loved so much. He'd teased her on more than one occasion that age had not tempered this tendency in her.

Now he knew the price of her victory was a little of her innocence, he would do anything to give that optimism back to her.

She'd grown up a little today and not in a good way.

"No you haven't, but that isn't how envy works Dearest. Envy is an emotion that strikes because a person wants what another has. Trust me I'm an expert in envy. Before you came into my life it was my primary emotion."

"So then how do I get past this?" She asked sounding lost.

" _That_ is easier said than done." He took her chin between his fingers and tilted her head up to his for a soft kiss, wishing the caress could somehow transfer some of her anguish to him.

"You say FUCK THEM, and then you let it go. Envy is a poison you give yourself. If they wish to drink it, you have no need to let their sickness effect you."

Sofia nodded her head.

"Fuck them." She whispered.

Then looking as though she'd surprised even herself, Sofia giggled at the sound of such profanity rolling off her tongue. Apparently Princesses could light people on fire, but using an expletive was a no-no.

The sound was so welcome Cedric laughed to.

"Fuck them." He repeated and saw her laugh a little more. He didn't think she'd ever heard him utter an actual profanity either. He had a moment to feel thankful she couldn't read his mind though.

"FUCK THEM." She said loudly enough to garner the attention of the few people still milling about the garden.

He knew everything wasn't all better just because she'd said a few bad words, but he was happy to see her spirits brighten.

Just then the bells in the west tower began to ring, and everyone stopped what they were doing.

Cedric rose holding out his hand to Sofia.

"It's sundown."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Since I finished the story I decided to post the chapters five and six at the same time, so double shot!**

 **Disclaimer: Sofia is 18, Cedric is 34 I don't own them, I'm just putting them through an emotional roller coaster for fun!**

.o~O*O~o.

Cedric and Sofia joined the crowds inside as hundreds of people, new Masters, their mentors, the Masters and Apprentices of the Hall, and honored guests invited to join the feast, made their way to The Court of Miracles.

Centered in the middle of the fortress, the Court was actually a large amphitheater which stood open to the outside. It was the center of all ceremonies and rituals here.

For the feast, Apprentices had set seven tiered rows of tables that stretched from one end of the theater to the other, each row able to hold fifty people. There were also two tables on either side of the floor where the Masters of the Hall would sit.

As Cedric and Sofia passed through the large double doors they were stopped by one of the Apprentices.

"Master Cedric, Master Sofia," the girl intoned bowing to them. "I am instructed to take you to your seats."

Cedric could see Sofia was confused, but of course he was not.

"You're places are here Masters," The girl said showing them to two seats in the front row.

Cedric's face broke into one of the genuine smiles that still felt so unusual to him.

As the Apprentice walked away, Cedric handed Sofia into the chair marked for her. Seeing his smile she raised a questioning eyebrow.

"You've won an honor, Dearest. That's why where up front."

Sofia looked at him incredulously.

"But… I set Master Ignatius on fire!" She said as if that were a bad thing.

"Indeed. Iggy respects mettle. After what you did he wouldn't have shot down your nomination. It might even have been his idea. You may have made a powerful ally today Sofia. Master Ignatius's word is law here."

Sofia seemed doubtful about Ignatius's regard for her, but their seating arrangements where indisputable.

As the Court filled the sky grew ever darker.

At first the change was imperceptible.

But as full dark fell Cedric saw Sofia's eyes grow wide and heard her take in an awed breath.

The Hall of Masters wasn't done surprising her yet.

With the sun gone and the stars twinkling overhead, the castle no longer shone like a magnificent prism held up to the light.

Instead it became its own light, the crystal of its structure emitting a shimmering luminesce in shades soft white, blue, and violet.

"This place is amazing." Sofia whispered.

Cedric could only agree.

"I spent the year between passing my Master's examination and becoming your fathers new Sorcerer here. And I remember never growing tired or becoming indifferent to of the beauty of this place. I think I could have been content here with my books and my potions surrounded by such breathtaking magic."

Sofia seemed shocked by that.

For all they knew about each other, there were still parts of his life he hadn't told her about. They had decades, potentially centuries, ahead of them. He figured it was best to let some things come out in their own time. Mystery made life, and people, more interesting after all.

"If you liked it so much why did you decide to leave?"

It was a question Cedric had asked himself from time to time.

Years ago he would have said something about it being expected of him to take his father's place. Or how he'd wanted not just power but glory and acclaim, two things in short supply on a remote mountain top populated by just a few hundred people.

But when Cedric left, he'd also known he was walking away from the glittering, glowing light of this place directly into his father's shadow.

And Goodwin cast a long shadow.

At nearly thirty-five, after a decade and half of service, Cedric was only just emerging from it.

Yet even when he'd been disrespected, ignored, and looked down on by the royal family, other sorcerers, even his own father, he'd stayed.

Looking at the woman next to him, Cedric began to wonder.

He'd been Royal Sorcerer of Enchancia for fifteen years.

Fifteen years ago the Kingdom had just come out of morning for the passing of Queen Melora, who'd died the year before attempting to give James and Amber a brother. And the king had been a young widower still mired in his grief.

Cedric had never thought there was much beyond friendship and duty in their marriage, but dying in childbed (to give the King a son who died moments later) had made the Queen a martyr. To no one more than Rolland, who must have felt an unimaginable guilt that it was essentially his seed which killed her. And in that guilt he'd made all but a Saint of her in his memory.

Sofia would have been three years old, a toddler running around her parent's cottage in the village. Her father would still be alive and well, her parents happy and in love. No notion he would be lost at sea only scant months later.

Rolland and Miranda's marriage wasn't even twinkle in either of their eyes.

And the gulf of five years stood between then and the moment Cedric first laid eyes on the eager, irritating, astonishing little girl who would come to be the obsession of his life.

Years in which he found himself crippled by anxiety and doubt, unflatteringly compared to his father, and generally thought of as a joke.

That was why he'd plotted to overthrow the king.

In hindsight he realized his attempts to usurp the throne had been nothing more than half-baked endeavors meant to assuage his bruised ego.

Still, he didn't have to stay and endure any of it. He could have slunk back here to lick his wounds, lived perfectly appreciated for his talents, and otherwise been left in peace.

He never did though.

"I left to find something."

He began slowly, all the pieces finally falling into place in his mind.

"I didn't know what.

Sometimes I thought I knew. I thought I figured out how to get it, only to realize it was something greater, but far more elusive than the selfish ambitions and malicious schemes that consumed my life.

And when it eluded me time after time, I stayed because I couldn't shake the feeling this 'something' was still waiting for me, just out of reach, around one more corner, behind one more stone.

If I came back here, I might find a kind of quiet peace, but I would give up forever the hope of … _it_.

Then suddenly the King married your mother and you crashed into my life like a falling star.

Maybe there is such a thing as fate."

She kissed him them. It wasn't small, or gentle, or chaste and she seemed utterly uncaring it might, even know, add kindling to the nasty rumors about them.

When she released him she didn't go far.

"I'm glad you left and never came back here." She whispered, her mouth still so close he could feel her words on his lips and breathe the breath she'd used to form them.

"I'm glad I finally found you." He whispered back.

Just then they were startled apart by trumpets blaring the Hall's traditional fanfare, signaling the feast was about to begin.

A hush fell over the assembled crowed as the stirring, mystical music filled the air and the double doors at the front of the amphitheater opened.

The Masters filed into the room in two rows which split off as they moved either to the right or left to take their seats. Each Master's position was fixed, a sign of both their power and their length of service in the Hall.

So it was no surprise when a still slightly sooty Master Ignatius, the last to enter, stood before the crowd instead of taking the seat at the head of the right table.

When the trumpets ceased, Ignatius welcomed the assembled crowd, the honored guests, and most especially the new Masters among them. Out of the hundred and nine hopefuls who'd come today, fifty-five had been bestowed the title of Master.

They were now Sorcerers in their own right, with the responsibility to act in the name of justice and kindness and with all the privileges of their status.

"The doors of this Hall shall never be closed to you", he intoned.

It was the same speech the Masters had given since time immemorial. But for all he was a grumpy asshole, Ignatius was also a dynamic speaker and Cedric found the words as inspiring now as they had been sixteen years ago.

That didn't mean it wasn't all bunk though.

Half the men and women sitting at the tables on the floor, and probably more still sitting in the tiers above him, not to mention he himself, inhabited the murky gray somewhere in the middle.

Never evil enough to be banished from the Hall, or worse, hounded until they were forced to seek refuge on Helhiem Mountain, home of the Dark Mages, but hardly the paragons of virtue suggested.

He had no doubt he was sitting next to the only person in the entire Hall who could live up to the admonishments of this speech.

As Ignatius continued, Apprentices of the Hall began serving wine. By the time the Master finally ended his opening words there were a good deal of people no longer in complete control of the faculties.

"Now I'll get to the good part," Iggy even smiled at that. Like a Wassalia miracle, it was strictly an annual occurrence. "Master Portia the Portentous, Master Goodwin the Great may I have your help?"

The Apprentice of the hall who'd played usher in Sofia's testing room walked forward and began calling names.

"Master Laurel of Enchancia come forward. Master Anders of Rudistan come forward…."

Sofia grabbed Cedric's hand and he could see she was holding her breath, waiting for her name.

"Master O'nessa of Galdiz come forward."

O'nessa had been the ninth name and still Sofia's hadn't been called.

She seemed shaken and he saw her face fall.

"Dearest?" he whispered.

In fact he was so overcome with pride his voice had become to choked to make the words come out any louder.

"They didn't call me. Our sitting here must be some mistake."

She didn't understand.

Anything he might have said would have been drowned out by the thunderous applause of the audience as all nine new Masters accepted their honors, bowed to the Masters of the Hall and then to the crowd.

"There is one honor left. The highest honor this Hall has to bestow on a new Master." Ignatius continued when the nine medalists had retaken their seats.

"I have been a Master of this hall for over forty years. In that time I have judged hundreds of young hopefuls. So I say with some discernment, it is rare to find an Apprentice willing to defend themselves with tenacity when beleaguered by six Masters. And rarer still to find even a seasoned Master who will rise spectacularly to a challenge when they believe the fight is hopeless.

Today I was surprised in a way I have not been in decades, if ever. And so I wish to bestow this honor personally.

Master Sofia, Princess of Enchancia, it is with the humble regard that I award you the Crystal Wand."

The crowd went to its feet at that, giving Sofia a wild standing ovation filled with hoots and cheers.

Sofia seemed too stunned to stand. For a long minute she sat simply looking dumbfounded, which only seemed to make them all cheer louder.

It was safe to say the ugliness of the day had dissipated. And as she always did, Sofia managed to turn the enmity of others into adoration. It was perhaps her most sublime talent.

Finally, Cedric stood and took her hand, helping her out of her chair.

Leaning in close, he whispered in her ear.

"Not to put too fine a point on it, Dearest, but I told you so!"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I posted two chapters today so if you clicked right here, you'll want to go back to five!**

 **Also: Lemons as promised!**

 **Disclaimer: Sofia is 18, Cedric is 34, I don't own either of them, or anyone else mentioned. I'm just inking Sofia cause we all know she's got a naughty side in there somewhere!**

.o~O*O~o.

It was only a few hours before dawn when the coach landed in front of the castle.

To Cedric's surprise he could see Baileywick standing at the bottom of the steps holding a lantern.

When the coach came to a stop he opened the door and extended his arm to hand Sofia down.

If she was still upset about this morning he couldn't tell. She seemed too worn out to give Baileywick much attention and simply thanked him quietly before starting up the steps.

Cedric followed her out, but before he could catch up to her, Baileywick blocked his path.

"I need to speak with you." The Steward's tone was unreadable.

Sofia turned just a few steps from the top and looked at him with worried eyes.

"Go on up Dearest. I'll be along in a few minutes." Cedric told her, trying to keep his voice level.

She didn't need any more drama today. Truthfully he didn't either, but if one of them had to take it on cuff he would gladly be the one.

Once Sofia was out of sight, Cedric eyed Baileywick with disdain.

"Say whatever you have to say then get out of my way, it's been a long day."

They'd never been very polite to one another, but after this morning the older man should simply be grateful he didn't have a Sorcerer out for revenge.

"I wanted to say… that is…I apologize." Baileywick looked away then as if apologizing _and_ looking Cedric in the eye while he did it was just too humiliating. "I shouldn't have barged in on you this morning and I shouldn't have implied that…I shouldn't have implied what I did."

"Implied what you did? I assume you're referring to the part where you accused me of raping my wife?"

Baileywick's head shot up at that and there was an unmistakable look of anger there.

"She isn't your wife yet." He spit.

"Words are wind Baileywick. Saying a few of them in front of a crowd and getting a new piece of jewelry changes nothing between her and me. She'll mean as much to me on that day as she does on this one, as she always has."

"Then you admit it." Baileywick looked as incredulous as he was angry.

"Merlin's mushroom's what are you on about now?"

"That you've had designs on Sofia since she was a child!

What were you doing with her up there all those years while everyone thought you're magic lessons where so innocent? How did you manipulate her into believing she loves you?

Other people might think you're nothing more than peevish and anti-social, but I've always seen you for what you are. You're a scheming snake with a soul as black as soot, only out for himself. You don't love Sofia. You want her to achieve some end of yours, and when you have it you'll throw her away broken.

How she can't see what you are, how she can let you…touch her like that, I have no idea. But then she's always seen only what she wants to in others."

"This is quite an apology Baileywick. You may want brush up on the form though before you go making one to anybody else."

"I don't hear a denial!" Baileywick looked triumphant at that, as though he'd caught Cedric out.

Cedric didn't have the heart to tell the Steward he was about eight years too late with his accusations of ulterior motives.

The way Baileywick was going, finding out he missed his chance to have Cedric beheaded by so wide a margin might cause a fatal heart attack.

That would be fine with Cedric, but it would probably make Sofia sad. More than likely sad enough to cry. And when she cried, which she'd already done far too much today, he felt like someone was twisting a knife into him. He was utterly indifferent to the suffering of any other living being, save her. Her pain was a thing he simply could not bear.

So he'd have to let Baileywick live.

"If I did deny it would you believe me?

If I told you how deeply and honorably I love her, how much I need her, how far I would go to make her happy, would it change your opinion of me in the slightest?"

Baileywick's only answer was a look of contempt.

"I thought not. Why don't we just finish this non-apology and if the King asks, since I assume it's him who put you up to this, I'll say you were humble and contrite. Now move aside."

With that Cedric's left shoulder smashed into Baileywick's right as he pushed passed the Steward.

"Don't think I won't be watching for the moment when you turn on her!" Baileywick called after him.

Cedric knew he should just keep walking, but he found himself turning to look down at the other man.

For someone who others seemed to think was a sniveling, shrinking coward, he certainly seemed to have developed a habit of poking already enraged bears with sharp sticks.

"I really don't care what you do Baileywick as long as you _NEVER_ enter my tower without explicit permission again. Do we understand each other?"

The Steward made a grudging grunt of assent.

"And just so we're perfectly clear, whatever your opinion of me, if you _ever_ again insinuate I used Sofia's affection for me to abuse a child or that I've forced myself on her, I'll kill you, and I won't do it quickly.

You're wrong about my feelings for her, but you're more right than you know about the blackness of my soul."

With that he turned and finished making his way up the stairs, without a backward glance.

By the time Cedric reached the door of his workshop he felt a hundred years old.

He wondered, if he kept using magic to stop the physical signs of aging, was this how he would feel all the time in a few decades; constantly care worn and weary even as the mirror told him he continued to look twenty-five?

Opening the door, he found the only thing that could make him forget about his exchange on the palace steps….

Sofia, sitting on his worktable in something black and sheer and sleeveless and so sinful, it made him wonder who was the corrupted one in their relationship.

"I was getting worried." She told him as walked towards her.

"Baileywick just wanted to apologize." A half-truth was better than ruining what was left of the night.

Despite some sticky moments, the day had been a triumph for her. Cedric wanted it to end happily so, as time took the sting out of the nastier aspects, she'd come to remember this as a unique, stressful, but essentially momentous day filled with beauty and victory… and him.

As he closed the final distance between them he took one of Sofia's tiny, bare feet in his hand and began sliding his fingers over her skin. Over her ankle, higher to her leg, and higher still, taking up the hem of her diaphanous, exquisite… he didn't know what to call it really….

Clothing covered. But this, this exposed everything yet made it seem tantalizingly out of reach at the same time.

Having pushed the hem of her 'dress' to her knees, he took the final step that would leave him standing cradled between her thighs.

She was temptation come to life.

He couldn't wait to touch and taste all of her.

But there was one last thing he wanted to do tonight before he lost himself in her arms.

Something Cedric had been looking forward to for longer than he was willing to admit. Something that had left him hard and wanting every time he thought about it for months, maybe even years.

"Have you decided on a spell?"

Sofia looked up at him then, pinning him with eyes that had gone midnight blue.

"I'm have."

She pulled gently at his tie, letting the yellow silk slip to the floor, forgotten the moment it was out of her way. Next she pulled the belt to his robe and slipped the heavy velvet off his shoulders. His vest and shirt followed and soon he was standing in front of her naked to the waist as she caressed the script tattooed on his arms.

"You told me that each of the spells had special significance to the wearer. But you've never told me what yours mean to you.

This one for instance," she traced the three lines of words on his left bicep. "The Veritas Unveilius Incantation, the spell to divine truth from falsehood. It's certainly useful. And it's very beautiful, lyrical. When you say it, it sounds as if the words have music to them, just beyond your ability to hear. But why choose it?"

Cedric took a steadying breath. Even the light touch of her fingers on his skin was making it hard to stay focused.

"This was the last spell I had done. I got it on the same trip to Friesenburg where I found your ring.

By then you had worked your magic on me, making me believe I was better, stronger, more gifted than people gave me credit for. Then I gave myself credit for sometimes.

This spell reveals a hidden truth, a secret reality disguised underneath a façade.

I choose it because you made me believe there was a better me beneath the face I showed to the world.

I'm not always sure that's true. But when I feel most tempted to do something I know wouldn't make you proud, I feel the words pulse under my skin and it pulls me back."

Cedric thought of his conversation with Baileywick on the steps.

He hadn't just been tempted, he wanted more than anything to murder the arrogant bastard right then and there. But he hadn't… for her. Because how could ever do something so evil and then hear her tell him there was goodness in him? He'd burn to ashes with the shame of betraying her belief in him like that.

He counted on Baileywick believing he was capable of anything, but the truth was the hateful prick was safe from him. Losing Sofia's love, her adoration, her trust in him wasn't worth the transient pleasure of watching the life ebb out of the castle Steward.

"Oh Cedric." There were tears at the corners of her eyes again, but her smile was so radiant he thought he was standing in a pool of sunlight. "There is good in you. So much good! How can you doubt it?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down into a kiss that stole his breath and left him feeling weak in the knees. He needed her so badly he was nearly ready to throw carefully laid plans to the wind.

But then her lips and her arms left him and he shivered, cold where her skin had abandoned his.

She turned to the things she'd gathered on his desk and flipped open an ancient spell book, a crumbling tomb he'd had for years, turning to a page near the back.

"Illuminate Nacht," he read the title of the spell, "To bring light to the dark."

He looked back at her to find a yearning expression in her eyes as she whispered the spell into the semi-gloom of the chamber.

"When black you find the night,

Without hope or help your plight,

Fear not the shadows for lack of sight,

Illuminate Nos, Illuminate Nacht,

From darkness be delivered by this light.

This way I'll always wear us on my skin. And I'll always remember, in times of trial, to look to the people… _the person_ who sees only best in me."

Cedric grabbed her right arm and pulled her flush against him.

His mouth descended on her, crushing her lips beneath his, tracing her jaw with his tongue, nipping down the column of her throat. He nuzzled the roundness of her shoulder and then brought soft kisses down her arm, till he reached her bicep.

He looked up at her then, their eyes locking as he reached to the other things she'd laid out.

Taking the mystical ink, he dipped his wand into it and brought it to her arm.

With painstaking, perfect strokes he painted the words in four circles around her small arm.

When he was done he spoke the words that would bind it to her skin and the ink shimmered and shivered for a moment before sinking beneath the surface.

When it was done the tattoo stood out dark and black against her pale skin, completely healed.

"It's perfect." She breathed touching the words with reverence.

"I have one more thing for you."

Cedric walked from the shelter of her legs to a chest he kept at the foot of stairs to the balcony. Unlocking it he pulled out a large box and turned to find her standing next to him.

Taking her hand he led her down to their bedroom.

He sat her in the large armchair before the fire and cast the spell that would set the logs there ablaze.

Kneeling in front of her, he motioned for her to open her present.

Sofia smiled like it was Wasallia night and began attacking the purple bow that adorned the box.

When she finally had it open, she pulled out the soft tissue only to give a quizzical look when her hands met soft velvet cloth.

Lifting the cloth away she gasped, but no sound came out.

Instead Cedric watched her hands begin to tremble as she pulled her now revealed present out.

"As you were studying for your judgment, I kept thinking what I could give you, to show you how proud of you I was, how amazing a Sorceress I already knew you were. My mind kept going back to that day you took me with you to Mystic Meadows, so your good deed could be helping me get my family wand.

Do you remember how you convinced my father to let me try out the wand in hopes I would impress him?

She nodded, looking overcome, but found enough of her voice to finish the story for him.

"You told him you'd conjure him the most magnificent Sorcerer's hat anyone had ever had. And he said he always liked a good hat.

Later when we were riding home I asked you why you never wore one and you said you looked silly in them, but that most Sorcerers wore them as a sign of their status."

"I didn't conjure this one. It's very old and very rare. Actually I can't take full credit either.

If it hadn't been for your sister and her magnificent pushiness, I might not have convinced its previous owner to relinquish it. But in the end my bribery and Amber's audacity prevailed upon him.

Once, a thousand years ago, it belonged to a powerful Sorcerer Queen who lived on the steps of what's now Rudistan, Empress Zoya-Marina. She used her gifts to drive invaders from her kingdom and bring peace and stability to the land. She was beloved by all.

When I found out it still existed, I knew it needed to belong to you."

"I have no words," Sofia told him, holding it up. "It's exquisite."

Cedric took it from her hands and gently placed it on her head.

"Now it is." He said, kneeling back to look on her.

Hat was an insufficient word for the large tear-drop shaped headdress. It was more a crown, made out of an unknown filigreed black metal, which seemed to swim as though there was liquid inside it, inlaid with rubies and black diamonds.

She stood then holding out her arms to him and Cedric was overcome…

A slave at the feet of his queen.

Instead of standing as she seemed to want him to, he bent lower, kissing the top of her foot.

Following the path his fingers had taken earlier, he kissed his way around her ankle, up her leg, nipping at her knee as he lifted the transparent material of her gown.

Without hesitation Sofia lifted her leg and helped him rest it over his shoulder, a shiver passing through her as his hands cupped her bottom. The anticipation for what was to come nearly making her scream.

Cedric took his time, kissing the silky skin of her inner thighs, teasing her in the most evil way.

Finally he looked up at her with hungry eyes and let his tongue slip between her folds.

Time slipped and slided as it always did, and when he savored the memory in the morning he would see everything in a series of flashing images accompanied by the sounds of her gasps and his cries.

He remembered the tightness of Sofia's grip on his hair as she fell over the edge he'd brought her to with his fingers and tongue. Her legs giving way as her body shook with the power of her release.

She'd collapsed to her knees and he'd caught her in his arms.

Cedric saw her laid out on the rug before the fire, the diaphanous gown bunched under her arms. Her nipples shimmering in the fire light wet from his mouth, her breath coming in heaving pants as she watched him remove the rest of his clothing.

He remembered the way he'd laid himself completely on top her, covering every inch of her.

The way Sofia had welcomed his weight on her, hands grabbing at his back, legs rubbing along his sides.

He shuddered at the memory of their combined cries as he'd ground his achingly hard length against her folds. Felt again her legs becoming a vice around his hips, as she tried to urge him to change the angle, so he would slip into her wet, heat.

"Say your mine," he'd demanded in a harsh whisper as he took some of his weight on his elbow. Sliding his hand underneath her head, his fingers tangled tight into the hair at the base of her neck.

Cedric remembered how she'd trembled, aroused even more by his demand.

Her eyes had gone impossibly darker, something like a sob escaping her lips, as her hands moved up his body to cup his face.

She'd kissed him hard, her eyes locked on his, her tongue invading his mouth, possessing him as he needed to hear he possessed her.

Pulling away from her mouth, he buried his head in her neck, kissing and biting softly at the vulnerable spot below her ear.

"Say it," he all but growled as he brought his other hand to her hip. Holding her down, he made the slight shift that allowed him to enter.

With one blind thrust he slid into her all the way to the hilt, and her head fell back, a scream coming out of her mouth.

He started to move, still holding her down beneath him, and heard it.

At first it was a whisper, but then it built until she was shouting out as though the words were the only thing between her and disaster.

"I'm yours. I'm yours. I'm yours."

Over and over again as he pulled out and flipped her over.

"I'm yours. I'm yours. I'm yours."

As he laid over her once more, entering her from behind.

The sight of his hands gripping hers flashed before Cedric's eyes. He watched himself bring them over her head as he pushed her into the plush of the rug.

"Mine," he'd whispered back, his face buried in the back of her neck.

He saw them coming together, the fire lighting one side of their bodies as they shuddered and shook and screamed through their release.

And then he saw nothing, heard nothing, as blackness took him….

When Cedric came back to himself, they were lying on their sides, Sofia's back to his front, one his arms across her chest, one of his legs thrown over her hips. She was staring into the fire, her hands gripping his arm.

He saw tears shimmering unshed at the corners of her eyes and he had a moment of sick dread.

He didn't know what had come over him. He'd been near barbaric with her.

"Dearest," He started, feeling unsure his endearment would be welcome. "What's wrong? Have I hurt you?"

Sofia turned her head, and looked at him incredulously.

"You're crying." He said, feeling the knife start to twist at his insides.

She smiled then, even as the tears began sliding down her cheeks.

"I'm happy," she whispered. "So happy I'm scared."

Cedric's arms instinctively tightened around her and he felt her hands squeeze back.

"I know you love to think I'm blindingly optimistic and not a little naïve. But I know nothing comes without a price in this world.

My mother and father loved each other so much. The price for that was my father's life. No one can be as happy as they were, as happy as you've made me, and not have fate come to collect.

Sofia shifted in his arms then so she was facing him, their bodies pressed together.

"I would pay almost anything, to have what we have. But I'm scared one day the price will be you!

Cedric, I've always been yours, from the first moment. Now that you're mine too….I can't lose you."

He silenced her then with a long kiss.

He wanted to tell her the same fear lived in him, that one day her life would pay the price for the happiness they'd found. But he knew it wouldn't help right now if he did.

Instead he broke their kiss to take her face in one of his hands, sure that her eyes were on his so she would see the truth of what he was about to say.

"Sofia, I will split this world in two and cast everyone on it into the void before I let usbe parted.

Do. Not. Mistake. Me.

I've never said a thing just to appease you and I won't start now. If someone were ever to try to take you from me, I would come like the dark of Hell in the night, and nothing standing between us will still live when I'm done.

I swear to you when I do die, centuries from now, it will be in your arms."

She'd fallen asleep a short time later, reassured by his words, probably only half believing them.

Cedric took the crown from her head and placed it on the small table by the arm chair. Then picked her up, carrying her to the bed.

It was dawn by then, but he closed the curtains till only a small chink of light peaked into the room, just enough for him to see her face.

Pulling Sofia's sleeping body into his arms, feeling her unconsciously wrap herself around him, Cedric vowed again he would never let anything part them.

She wasn't the only one who could no longer imagine a life that didn't include the other.

"Like the dark of Hell in the night."


End file.
